Boston Airport (BOS)

Boston Airport is a North American airport found in the state of Massachusetts. It’s official, lengthier name is the General Edward Lawrence Logan International, and it has been allocated the IATA code of BOS. The airport’s ICAO code is listed as KBOS. Boston airport is regarded as one of the most important international air gateways of the country, and is rated as the nineteenth busiest in the US. It is a modern establishment, consistently being renovated to ensure that passengers receive the most efficient service possible, and it offers a wide range of facilities. Passengers can also choose from a number of options for ground transportation.

The airport of Boston is located in the East Boston neighbourhood of Boston city, to the east of the downtown area. It is partly located in the town of Winthrop, and is nearby to Chelsea, Revere, Charlestown and North End. The state of Massachusetts is to the west of the country, with Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, New Hampshire to the north and the North Atlantic Ocean to the east. The main access road of the airport is the Interstate-90, and since the airport is surrounded by water on three sides, there is really only one way in or out, unless the tunnel from South Boston is used, which is known as the Ted Williams Tunnel. The Callahan Tunnel is available from downtown Boston. Passengers have plenty of parking options at Logan Airport. There is a large central parking garage that provides easy access to all the terminals, as well as parking areas at Terminal B and Terminal E. An economy car park offers cheaper parking facilities as well.

The airport is well connected to Boston and other areas by buses, trains and taxis, should a passenger not wish to drive his/her own vehicle. The Blueline subway trains arrive nearby the airport, and then free shuttle buses take passengers to the terminal buildings. Red Line trains and Commuter Rail trains arrive at the South Station, and the Silver Line rapid transit buses are available for transport to the terminals. The buses are operated by Massport, the airport authorities, and by MBTA, the city’s public transport company. Further transport to the airport is provided by the Logan Express buses and by conventional taxi services.

Boston Airport was originally the Jeffery Field, when it opened in September of 1923. At the start, passenger flights were operated by Colonial Air Transport between Boston and New York City. In the 1930’s, American Airlines began daily scheduled flights to New York as well. During the 1940’s the airport became officially known as the General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport, and saw many improvements to its infrastructure. Its developments included additional runways, three new hangars and a new road was planned to provide easier access to the facilities. Flights were now offered to Main (New Hampshire), Vermont, Canada and New York, and the airport was handling almost 500,000 passengers per annum.

Improvements continued at Logan Airport, with the construction of an eight-story control tower, a loop access roadway system and an expanded terminal with 45 departure gates. In 1959 the airport had four runways, and Pan American Airways began flights to Europe and American Airlines initiated flights to Los Angeles. By 1966, Boston airport was rated as the eighth busiest in the US, and international travel had increased by one hundred percent. Another control tower was built in 1973, this time a 22-story building and the largest in the world, and the Volpe International Terminal (Terminal E) opened in 1974. By 1980, over fifteen million passengers were using Logan Airport, and in the 1990’s, passenger traffic rose to approximately 25 million per annum. The Logan Modernization Project was therefore put into effect to accommodate the facility’s rapid growth. The plan was organised to improve efficiency of the airport operations without compromising on the environmental benefits of its neighbours. By 2006, the project was completed, with changes at just about every terminal and roadway at the airport. Boston Airport now boasted an award-winning International Gateway Arrivals Hall, a new MBTA Station, a LEED certified Terminal A, connections from all terminals to the Central Parking Garage and many other improvements.

Today, Boston Airport is the 28th busiest in the world in terms of aircraft movements, and the twelve busiest for international traffic in the U.S. In 2011, the airport saw an all-time high of 28,8 million passengers overall, over a million more than the previous year. It is also one of the most efficient airports in the country for on-time domestic departures. There are six runways and four passenger terminals, of which Terminal E is used for international flights by Air France, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Air Canada, Aer Lingus, Virgin Atlantic, Icelandair, Alitalia, Lufthansa and many other airline companies. The busiest international routes are to London, Paris, Toronto, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Dublin, Reykjavik, Zurich and Rome. Terminal E has a Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Lounge, a Lufthansa Senator and Business Lounge, an Aer Lingus Gold Circle Lounge and an Air France Lounge. The departure area is on the third level, the arrival area is on the ground floor, the second level is dedicated to passport control. The Federal Inspection Station of the terminal is able to accommodate up to 2,000 passengers per hour.

Terminals A, B and C are mainly for domestic operations, and are well equipped with shops, restaurants, banking services, information centres, ground transportation centres, kids’ play areas, free Wi-Fi connections and Lost and Found offices. Terminal A is the newest terminal of the airport, completed in 2005, and is served by Alaska Airlines, Delta Airlines, Delta Shuttle and United Airlines. It has a main building and a satellite terminal. In Terminal B, opened in 1974, passengers will find a north and south building, and the airline companies of Air Canada, Spirit Airlines, US Airways, Virgin America, PenAir, US Airways Shuttle and American Airlines. Boston Airport is also a hub for the carrier Cape Air, and a focus city for JetBlue Airways, and these two companies are present at Terminal C, along with United Airlines for now. Soon this terminal will be solely used by JetBlue Airways and its partner, Cape Air. The most popular domestic flights head for Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco, Charlotte, Los Angeles, Orlando and Newark.

The terminal buildings are connected by free shuttle buses that are available every fifteen to twenty minutes, however, there are also moving walkways between the Terminals A, B and E. Additional features of the airport include two hotels, the Hilton Boston Logan Hotel and the Hyatt Harborside, and there is also a memorial site that is dedicated to those who lost their lives in the terrible terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The two flights that were targeted (American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175) departed Logan Airport that morning for Los Angeles. The 9/11 Memorial site is a large glass sculpture with two glass panels engraved with the names of the passengers and crew members of the flights.

Additional information regarding Boston Airport is available at the following telephone number: 1-800-23-LOGAN (56426). Information regarding ground transportation is available at (617) 561-1673.